Gladius Memoria
by Yume Indo
Summary: All Taiga wanted was to take Shirou away for a nice relaxing vacation. She certainly did not think it would be this troublesome. FSN x Kamen Rider W
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Made for entertainment. Yada yada yada. You know the drill. Also, lawyers, get off my back!

Now read and enjoy!

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There was no rain that day. The sky was no gloomier than it had been the day before.

He stood among the crowd of black suited people, face wiped clean of emotions as he looked lifelessly at the hollow tract of land which would soon be filled with his father's coffin. Suppressing the urge to cry wasn't as hard as it used to be, now that there were no more tears left to shed.

He dimly remembered the murmured consolations from the attending people. He wasn't too sure though, his mind didn't seem to be running the way it should, ever since his father died. Many things seemed to escape him, even hunger, even sleep. Was that supposed to happen when you're mourning? He didn't know—he wasn't even sure if he cared anymore.

There was a small sound, and he realized that the levers that held his father's coffin were slowly lowering it into the deep empty space on the ground.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. He titled his head to look at it, and looked up to the one who placed it there.

It was a brown haired young woman looking at him with tearful eyes full of sympathy, her jaws shaking as she controlled her own sobs. But she did not let the tears fall, and instead, she tried to smile at him.

"Don't worry," Her voice shook, but her words, her feelings, they were so strong that he felt it even through that.

"From now on, I'll take care of you." Her will resolute, she finished with a heartfelt smile. "I promise."

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_**Gladius Memoria**_

_Prologue_

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The sun beamed down the world with its warm golden rays, perched up upon its kingdom in the blue skies filled with fluffy clouds. A recent weather broadcast had sighted that there would be no dark clouds on this day, stating further that it would be a nice sunny day for everyone.

Emiya Shirou was tempted to call bullshit.

Why? Well…

"AHHHHHH!"

He was currently hanging on for his dear life.

"WOOHOO!" The source of all his trouble, on the other hand, was having the time of her life.

His current predicament could be rooted back to this very morning, when Fujimura Taiga barged into the Emiya household and announced that she and Shirou deserved a much needed vacation, apparently as a congratulations to themselves, what with him finally graduating into high school and herself landing a job as an English teacher—in his school, no less. This would have been a feasible excuse had it not already been a week since his graduation, thereby making her reasons very, very suspicious. True to form, Shirou protested, saying that he had too many responsibilities and he couldn't just bail on his job at the Copenhagen. He hasn't missed a day at work since day one, he wasn't about to start missing them now!

"I already got ya covered! Me and gramps settled everything and I even got Neko to let you slide!"

"What? You can't just coerce Neko-san like tha-"

"She said you deserved it, since you haven't been enjoying your spring break at all!"

"But I'm not even ready to-"

"Plus, I have your stuff already packed in one of gramps car-"

"...that sounds really suspicious."

"-so there ain't any reason for you to say no!"

"Wait! Don't I even get a say in this!"

"No! Now come on!" She responded to his complains with a wide grin and arms crossed authoritatively.

The Tiger of Fuyuki would not be denied.

Grabbing the hapless young man and dragging him along, she planted him at the back of her most precious and highly customized Yamaha R-1, intent on getting to their destination as soon as possible. To which Shirou, annoyed with his current situation, sniped that it would take a decade for them to arrive if she was driving.

That was the day that Shirou learned that one does not challenge Taiga Fujimura, on anything, _**ever.**_

"Fuji-nee—!"

Her response was another rev on the motor to speed up the motorcycle, causing him to yelp. She burned rubber on the asphalt as she cut through the road like a demon possessed.

"—Pleeease—!"

This time, his guardian overtook the car ahead of her with a sharp turn, doing the same to the next car. The terrified young man could hear her laughing proudly at the chaos that she wrought upon the highways.

"—SLOOOW DOOOOOWWWNNN!"

Yes, this was the consequence of challenging the one recognized as the Tiger of Fuyuki— screaming like a little girl dreading for your life.

Taiga giggled at the panicked sound that her charge made, feeling his arms tightening a bit more around her middle. Really, it wasn't as if she was an amateur on the clutches. She rode this baby to the university back when she was in college everyday! She won tons of (illegal) races on this beast! So, as amusing as his reactions were, Shirou shouldn't be worried at all!

Although…

'…Shirou doesn't know that much about me at all, does he?'

It was a sad fact really, and she only realized this once she announced her new job to him.

Taiga remembered the blank stare he gave her and the incredulous question that came right after.

"…you're _allowed_ to teach _teenagers_?"

Her dignity as an educator struck, she had countered in the only way she knew how.

"CHESTO!"

Torashinai, her most trusted weapon, had been fortunately nearby, ready to deliver the punishment that Shirou so rightfully deserved—a powerful whack on his noggin to correct his flawed perception.

She had knocked him mightily on the head and had stood over his crumpled form victoriously.

Of course, that little bit of payback didn't settle the issue.

Shirou knew nothing of the person that was supposed to be taking care of him, and that could lead to him doubting her competence as his guardian. While it was true that she projected herself as…less than a model citizen, it didn't mean that she was not good enough to support Shirou when it actually counts. Taiga loved Shirou like her own family, and she promised to herself and to his father's grave that she would do everything she can to help him as he grew up.

And now, she found out how much she screwed up.

Taiga was a little more than a stranger to him, and she knew that it was because she had put so little effort into getting him to know more about her. Whenever she went to his house for dinner and to check up on him, the basic pattern of their interaction would be for her to ask what happened to him during his day, a question that he always answered with a casual "Nothing new."

She would proceed to grind him for more details, and he would then evade with vague answers. This was the cue for her temper to flare and whack him over the head for being stubborn, and him subsequently shouting abuse.

All in all, this cycle painted Taiga as a less than admirable adult. There is also the fact that her hectic course in college caused her time to bond with Shirou to dwindle for a couple of years, and then her work only allowed her to check on him at night or in the morning, times when he would distract her with his delicious cooking and continually dodge from her queries about him.

It frustrated Taiga to no end, the fact that Shirou did not seem to trust her enough to open up to her. And she hated—absolutely hated—_herself,_ for letting it come to this point.

"Stupid Shirou." Her murmur was lost to the sound of the passing wind and the engines of her motorcycle. Her previous obliviousness to the way she presented herself and Shirou's secrecy did not help her relationship with him at all.

'Well, no use thinking too much about it, I suppose,' she thought with a mental sigh.

Taiga swallowed, blinking when she realized how dry her throat was. Uhoh, most of their stuff was packed in one of the cars that her grandfather was taking along, which included the water bottles she was supposed to bring with her. She totally forgot about that after Shirou made that crack about her driving skills. All she could think of by then was proving him wrong.

Stupid Shirou.

Oh well, at least she brought plenty of money, and fortunately there was a gas station just up ahead. She maneuvered their direction towards it and eased up on the throttle of her motorcycle. As the air slowly stopped circulating around them, she felt the arms that wound around her abdomen lighten their hold as Shirou seemed to realized that they were finally slowing down.

She smiled. The stupid boy must be thanking every god out there for letting him live through such a ride. She wasn't at all offended now, just amused. Shirou would learn more about her soon enough—and she would make him open up to her more. The whole point of this trip was, after all, for them to bond. Taiga wasn't going to waste this chance.

What she needed to do was take action, and take action she will.

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Shirou was still quite disoriented from all the crazy turns that Taiga took, but he was coherent enough to hear the sound of the motorcycle engines growl dimming itself to a slow purr, indicating that they were stopping. Opening his eyes a bit, he saw that they were heading to a gas station off the side of the road. Shirou relaxed, it seemed like Fuji-nee was going to take a small break. As she parked the motorcycle in front of the stations modest minimart, the engines gave a final protesting purr before being silenced under Taiga's hands.

Unwinding his arms from Taiga's middle, Shirou let himself fall back just a little. After confirming that yes, they were both still alive and yes, they were both still in one piece, Shirou unstrapped the helmet around his head to breathe out in joyous relief.

"Ahh.." He was never going to question her driving skills. Never again.

The woman in front of him mirrored his actions, albeit more lively. She stretched out her arms in an exaggerated fashion and before throwing him a smirk from over her shoulder.

"Did you enjoy that?" She quipped in what Shirou thought was an all too amused voice. Oh how nice, she must have really liked hearing him fear for their lives. Refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing him flustered, Shirou opted to turn his head away instead.

"Oh don't be such a baby, I had everything under control." Taiga pouted. Shirou kept his head away and made no response. Taiga huffed and got off from the leather perch of her motorcycle, hanging her helmet on one of the handlebars.

"Anyway," she started with a slow careful tone, "I'm thirsty, and figured you might be too. So I'm gonna go buy us some drinks, do you want anything specific?" She put her hands on her hips and beamed him a broad smile. Shirou turned his head to finally look at her and saw the smallest hint of apology on her expression. Buying him something to drink was probably her way of saying sorry.

The young man sagged.

He really couldn't be that mad at her now, not when she was like this.

Getting off the motorcycle himself, Shirou hanged his own helmet on the unoccupied handlebar before intoning neutrally, "Just some water will be fine, Fuji-nee."

His throat was a little raspy from all the screa- _shouting_ he did earlier. Getting some water was probably a good idea.

"Okay." Her smile widened as she bobbed her head down agreeably. "I'll be back in a sec. You stay here and watch over my baby." She reached over her motorcycle to pat it affectionately. "A beauty like this might attract some unsavory eyes. Ya gotta make sure none of 'em even comes close to her, got it?"

It took every cell in Shirou's body to keep him from rolling his eyes. Fuji-nee could be terribly dramatic when it came to her motorcycle.

"Sure," Shirou nodded to her terms nonetheless, albeit a little stiffly. It's not like he wouldn't have guarded the vehicle without her saying so anyway.

"Good!" She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be right back!" She hopped away to the store with smirk on her face, satisfied by the look of embarrassment she left on Shirou's face.

After rubbing the cheek that Taiga kissed furiously, the red-haired young man heaved an exasperated sigh. He then heard a series catcalls and whistles, making him swerve his head to its direction. He saw a couple of teenage boys hanging out by the one the tables placed outside the store. They all wore sly and knowing looks on their faces, one of them even gave him a thumbs-up.

"Nice one, dude!" The teenager with the upturned thumb said in a devious, congratulatory tone, grinning from ear to ear.

Wait, what were they implying! Surely they didn't think that his relationship with Fuji-nee was…!

Cutting off his line of thought, Shirou turned his head back and decided that it would be more prudent to ignore them. They were just a noisy bunch of idiots anyway. He also ignored the laughter that his action gave rise to.

The young Emiya crossed his arms and quietly deliberated his current situation, something he had not been able to do amidst all the rush earlier.

'Mah…'Fuji-nee's intentions were good, but she had really been too zealous over this. Shirou knew that he would have eventually craved in to her request, had she asked nicely enough. Taking a time-out wasn't such a bad idea, really, but what she did was borderline kidnapping. The only things she didn't do was tying him up then gagging him, and he wouldn't have put it past her to do that if he had protested strongly enough.

Try as he might though, he still couldn't figure out what she intended to do with this excursion. Certainly the reasons she had given could really be legitimate, but her methods were still suspicious. He still remembered her saying that she had his stuff packed beforehand, and that had already sent alarm bells ringing in his head. How did she find a way to get his stuff without him noticing at all? Even more suspicious than that, she said that she got Neko-san to agree with her. As far as he knew his boss had always thought that Fuji-nee was a bad influence on him, something that stemmed from his boss's own familiarity with her. She said in no small words that she thought that Fuji-nee was unfit to lookout after him. It made him wonder, 'What exactly did Fuji-nee do to get Neko-san to let me go with her?'

Well, being his guardian though, he suspected that she just told Neko-san that she'll be taking him away for awhile and didn't let his boss have a word in. In fact, Shirou was willing to bet that was what actually happened.

Still, he guessed that since he was here, he could at least give this outing a chance. He certainly didn't have anything to lose, and maybe it could actually be fun.

'….I just hope she doesn't take me for another joy ride.'

"I'm back!" Shirou was startled from his reverie when he heard his guardian's loud announcement, who had just exited the store carrying a plastic bag full of different beverages in her left hand. She fished into the bag and took one water bottle out. "Here!" She casually tossed the refreshment to him.

The young man caught it with his left hand, eyeing the brand before shrugging and unscrewing the cap. He took a small sip from the bottle, just as the brown haired woman returned by his side with her own beverage in hand. She gave him a smile as she stored the plastic bag in the attached tank bag accessory of her motorcycle, before leaning a bit on it. Taiga opened her own drink and took a dramatic gulp, exhaling a breath of satisfaction after she finished.

A moment of companionable silence descended upon them, with only the sounds of cars whizzing through the road and the winds cool breeze whistling on the around them. Shirou took another sip of his water, glad for this small moment of reprieve.

"Hey Shirou," Taiga said suddenly, breaking the silence, "Look, over there." She raised her free hand pointed towards north, and Shirou's eyes followed.

Up ahead, Shirou saw the outline of a grand city nestled at the foot of the mountains, located right next to the sea. Even from where he stood, he could already determine that it was quite huge, dwarfing the size of his home city, Fuyuki. And while Fuyuki was enveloped by a docile suburban feeling, this city looked like it reveled in progress and technological improvement; filled with many skyscrapers, coliseums, and he could even distinguish quite a number of amusement parks from the huge Ferris wheels and roller coasters. Yet remarkably, the gigantic city did not have a polluted air around it.

However, the most extraordinary sight of all was the colossal tower that looked like windmill, standing right in the very heart of the city. The tower itself looked firmly rooted from where it was, the very foundations made of enormous and solid iron, towering over all the buildings that surrounded it. The blades of the windmill placed right at the very top were also quite immense, all six spinning rhythmically to the blowing wind. It must have taken years to get the materials for the tower, and herculean effort to have it built, Shirou mused.

It was an admirable sight indeed.

"Amazing huh?" His guardian's jovial voice brought him back out of his thoughts. Shirou tore his eyes away from the marvelous city to gaze at her. The brown haired woman had just finished her drink, staring ahead with a nostalgic expression painted on her face.

"I used to visit this city a lot as a kid. Gramps brought me and my parents along when he came to check up on some local business he set up with a friend." The young teacher looked up at this thoughtfully. "I don't remember what that was exactly, just that it was really important to him. Anyways, we would visit with the family of his friend, and my parents would take me sight-seeing. I remember having lots of fun."

She smiled a small and bittersweet smile. "I made a lot of good memories with my family there." Her smile became just a bit bigger and just a bit sweeter, as she finally turned to face him. "So one day I thought, I should go back there and make better memories with my family now...and I can help Shirou make some memories he can treasure too!"

Time then, seemed to stand completely still, and the entire world seemed to disappear, leaving only the image of the lovely woman with a beautiful smile on her face. Struck speechless, Shirou could only replay her last words in his mind over and over again without finding a response worthy enough to match the sincere feelings that pervaded her every word.

"Uhh..." Cheeks coloring with a bright pink hue, Shirou's hand automatically reached up to initiate his age old habit of scratching the back of his head in times of embarrassment.

And that hand just so happened to hold the water bottle.

"Gah!" The water splashed noisily onto his head. Taiga chortled before exploding into a stomach clutching fit of laughter. She was not alone, as the teenagers from before had seen what happened and laughed uproariously at his expense.

"Oh…Oh god, Shirou, you really know how to break the mood." Taiga had controlled herself enough to say, amusedly watching the flustered young man wipe furiously at his wet hair.

"That wouldn't have happened," Shirou began, sighing as he squeezed the rest of the water from his hair, "If you hadn't said something so embarrassing."

"Aww, you're so cute when you're all flustered." She reached out to ruffle his red hair like a little child. Shirou pulled away as if scalded, red in the face and eyes narrowed half heartedly.

"Well anyway." Taiga straightened up and threw the bottle on a nearby trash can. "We still a few ways to go, so we better get going." She grabbed her helmet and strapped it on. "Come on! We gotta hustle if we wanna get there early." To emphasize this, the woman moved the motorcycle off the parking lot swiftly, seating herself down and handing him his own helmet with an impatient: "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry uuuuup!"

Snatching the helmet and putting it on, Shirou obediently sat himself on the backseat without complaints, wrapping his arms around her midriff, "At least go slower this time." He muttered.

"Fine you big baby," Taiga jibed. She turned on the ignition, the engines giving a low hum as they were reinvigorated, "Oh, and before I forget." She unzipped the tank bag and dug out a canned soda.

Shirou raised an eyebrow, "You're still thirsty?" He saw her glancing at the teenagers, who were now oblivious to them, testing the weight of the beverage. His eyes widened in realization.

"This isn't for me," Grinning nastily, she lifted the tab, opening the canned soda with a small "pop!"

"It's for them!" With that, the can sailed into the air as Taiga threw it towards the unsuspecting group of youngsters. She revved the motor and sped away just as Shirou heard the indignant cry of "What the-!"

"Hahaha!" And once more the demon of the highways laughed at the turmoil she wreaked upon her victims on the road.

"Alright!" She growled while adding pressure on the throttle, the mighty engines of her metal beast rumbled with her in response. This time, Shirou made neither a peep nor a squeak, just holding on for the sake of his safety.

After all, as fast as she was going now, it was still slower than before.

"Onward!" she roared over the turbulent winds that had enclosed them. "To Fuuto City!"

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_Prologue End_

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Aaaaand that's that. Hope you enjoyed. All criticisms are welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Made for fun. All that jazz.

Finally, here's Chapter 1!

**8888**

For the rest of the trip, nothing else was said. The only things that Shirou could hear now were the sounds of rushing air and the growl of the motorcycles engine. Fuji-nee had indeed fulfilled her part of their agreement of not driving like a maniac anymore, but Shirou still held on to her abdomen tightly. The scenery went by too fast for him to see anything that would catch his eye, so he opted to just close his eyes and laid his head on her back, slowly falling asleep.

"Shirou!" Her shout snapped him back to consciousness. "We're almost there! Look!"

Shirou blinked away the drowsiness from his eye and groggily raised his head from her back to look over her shoulder.

Wow. That one ineloquent word was really all that he could think of at the moment when he gazed upon the city with his bleary eyes.

The other was: Big. The city was a lot—_a lot_— bigger than he thought it would be. From the high skyscrapers to the lowest buildings, the city drew the eye with its controlled chaos.

But what really stood out, were the _windmills. _Spread all across the city, windmills of all kinds and of all sizes spun rhythmically to the passing wind. Even now, at the side of the road, there were windmills placed all over.

"I forgot to tell you! This city, it's powered by the wind!" Taiga shouted.

"…what?" he said incredulously. The statement stumped him to his very core.

"That's what all those windmills are for!" She gesture at said objects with head. "Amazing huh? It's why they call it the Windy city!" The windmills, as if hearing her words, spun faster. Shirou's eyes were wide and shimmering with wonder, unable to tear them away from the city.

….and it was with great misfortune that as the motorcycle drove closer and closer towards the city, a familiar feeling enveloped his being. Something he should have noticed before, but again his incompetency as a magus played against his favor. The undeniable presence of mana…and its source—was the city.

It was _brimming _in it.

That filled him with a bit of dread. For a place like that, so enriched with mana, there was no way a magus would not have laid claim to it.

This obviously meant that somewhere, within that city, there was possibly a magus.

"Oh, by the way Shirou, did you bring your phone with you?" Taiga suddenly asked, momentarily snapping him away from his worries. The phone she was referring to was a simple flip phone that he got from her when she found out that he didn't have a phone yet. She made him promise to keep it within his person at all times so she could always call him and make sure he was okay. The one time he forgot to bring it, she almost tore his ears off from the lecture he got.

Shirou tensed, and then he paused for just a teensy, tiny moment.

That was all the answer she needed.

"I thought you said you'd never forget to keep it with you ever again!" Akin to a tiger she was so aptly named for, Fuji-nee roared. His legal guardian kept her eyes on the road, but Shirou knew that if they were directed on him, they would definitely be set in a fierce glare that could melt his face off. His shivering back was proof.

"Well I'm sorry, it's not like I knew I was going to get kidnapped right this morning! I would have brought my phone the moment I got off the bed if I did!" Shirou felt a foolish sort of pride well up within him when he realized that he actually had to gall to snap back at her.

Fuji-nee did not reply for a moment, and when she did, Shirou knew he made a terrible, terrible mistake.

"Oh, is that so?"

Shirou yelped as Taiga suddenly revved the motor up and with burst of speed, cut through the highway.

"Wait! You said you'd slow down!" It was with great shame that he would acknowledge that later that yes, he sounded like a whiny child. Right now though, he was a bit more worried about them not dying.

"Yeah well, you promised me you'd always keep your phone with you!" With that she made a sharp turn to avoid the car ahead of them.

"But-!"

"NO EXCUSES! NOW HOLD ON TIGHT!"

The city limits were in sight, and on the side of the road there was a sign that read:

"Welcome to Fuuto City~!"

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><em>**_**Gladius Memoria**_  
><em><strong><br>**__**Chapter One: Crime and the City**_

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Fujimura Raiga gave a lamenting sigh as he read through the files handed to him by his present companion. He leaned back into the leather cushions of his limousine, the weariness of the situation catching up to him. Across him, the young woman who delivered the report sat vigilantly, silent and awaiting any query that he might have. She was a new recruit, young and maybe a bit naive, but he could tell that she was quite competent. The information he had been given was by no means easy to find, and it said volumes to what this young woman was capable of.

"Thank you, Sajyou." He said appreciatively, watching the young woman bow her head in gratitude. He looked down and briefly examined the files he had.

'What a mess, what a mess.' Raiga closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Things were a lot worse than he thought. The papers were filled with information about extortion, kidnappings, underground deals, black market involvement, and many, many more. To think that these acts of crime were committed by the organization of the old friend he had once thought to be quite an idealist. It was once more a testament to the saying that power corrupts, no matter who it was.

"Sir, we're here." Sajyou announced. Raiga looked out the window and saw that indeed, they have arrived.

"Fuuto…." It had been too long since he last visited. The city was as charming as it had been a decade ago. Powered by the blessings of the breeze, its streets were lined with windmills, melodically spinning in tandem with the air's ever-present whispers. A progressively eco-friendly gem shining amidst the sands of the industrialized world, striving to minimize the damage it does to mother earth.

The city had a special place in his heart, the memories he made here imprinted there forever. His memories with his family and friends, and of course, the memories he had with his old friend, Sonozaki Ryubee.

His friend was similarly aged man, who loved his family beyond everything else. Within his heart was a smoldering passion for the world's history; a unbridled desire for its civilizations and species past, which precipitated a life's work of exploring caves and excavating fossils as an archeologist. Raiga could still remember him, fully geared for dungeon exploration, covered in dirt and grime yet still sporting an excited smile while he rambled on and on about the fossils he's discovered. Eventually, Ryuubee collected enough to create a museum, something that Raiga helped fund.

The grin on Raiga's face slowly creased into a frown, replaying the last words that Ryubee said to him.

"_Goodbye, Raiga. I sincerely hope that we don't see each other again, for your own good." _

"We should arrive at the museum in just a few moments, Fujimura-sama." Sajyou's voice brought him back from his thoughts. Raiga sighed and prepared himself for the confrontation that was about to take place.

"I take it you're not exactly thrilled about this, sir." The young woman said carefully, mindful of the man before her.

"Indeed. This wasn't what I had in mind when I thought of our reunion." Raiga chuckled.

"Best of luck to us then, sir."

"Oh, I think we'll need more than just luck." The Fuuto Museum, the symbol of his friendship with Ryubee, was his destination. The hustle and bustle on the street was a sign of today's grand event, the day of the museum's foundation. Ryuubee was going to throw an impressive fair in celebration of the museum's anniversary.

This just happened to be the day that Raiga decided to return to the city.

Ohh, this was definitely not going to be pretty.

**8888**

With her helmet removed, Taiga drove slowly through one of Fuuto's quieter streets, relishing the wind against her face. They'd entered only moments ago, ending Shirou's latest torture session.

"You really should put it back on." Shirou nagged her.

"Oh shush. We're not gonna crash; I'm not driving fast enough for that to happen." She looked over her shoulder to smile at him teasingly. "Or do you want me to change that?" She purred.

That shut him up—

"Keep your eyes up ahead!"

—though not for very long…

She blew him a raspberry before doing what he said, since he did have a point.

'Ahh, Fuuto.' She sighed wistfully.

The truth was, being back in this city was little bittersweet. When she was still an admittedly angst-filled teenager, there were times that she'd just want to get away from everything and just go here just to remember all the fun she had with her family. She'd remembered staying here for days, losing herself in the memories of her childhood, and returning to Fuyuki lighter and happier.

She never realized how selfish that was until Kiritsugu died. His death had left her so devastated that she just went to her motorcycle and rode all the way here. It was different then, though. Nothing helped her ease the aching feeling of heartbreak, being here actually made her feel worse, and she didn't understand why until she remembered one little detail.

Back in Fuyuki, there was a little boy who had just lost his father, his only family.

The revelation struck her like a painful slap to the face. There she was, running away from her problems, when Shirou had been all alone, burdened by the overwhelming pain of loss, with no one to lean on. She remembered speeding back home so fast that she broke her motorcycles engine. But that did not matter to her then, because Shirou needed her. She had never been back here since, because she didn't want to use the memories so selfishly anymore, especially since running back here meant leaving behind a person who needed her.

'Oh,' she snapped back from memory lane. 'That reminds me.'

"Shirou, reach into my pocket." She ordered. Shirou raised a skeptical eyebrow before obeying. His hand touched a rectangular shaped object within.

"Pull it out." And so he did, and found that he was holding a phone similar to the one he had, except it was colored red.

"I brought an extra in case you forgot yours." She answered the inquiry before it even left his mouth. "I didn't want to take any chances, this city is really big. It's easy to get lost in it."

She knew this city enough to get around by herself, but the same didn't go for Shirou. He could get lost if they ever get separated.

Shirou was silent after that. She didn't know why, but she felt a bit insulted.

"…You actually thought that far ahead?" He was genuinely _astonished._ She didn't know whether to feel more insulted or actually feel proud about that.

Well it wouldn't do to dwell on negatives, so she settled for the latter. "Of course!" She mentally gagged at the forced cheer in her voice, but continued anyway, "Don't you believe in your nee-san, Shirou? I'll always do what I can to make sure that you're gonna be okay!"

And she meant that. She had so many things to fix, and this was only the first step. Make Shirou believe in her.

"Why do you always have to say such embarrassing things?" Shirou sighed at her. Hah, so even he was exasperated at her behavior. She really had to stop being all mopey, then. That wouldn't help her cause right now.

"Anyway! Let's talk about what we're gonna do: first we have to go to the hotel and get our reservation. And don't worry, gramps is gonna take care of the expenses for the lodgings. He actually came to visit his friend in this city, and I just thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to bring you along to actually take a break here."

It was really quite a stroke of luck that she didn't need to convince her grandfather all that much because of his own agenda. It's not like it would have made much of a difference though, since her grandfather was thankfully understanding of her situation with Shirou.

"After that, we'll just park my baby there and then we'll go on by foot!" She finished.

Shirou made a surprised noise. "By foot?"

"Yeah! It'll gonna be more fun that way!"

"If you say so…."

"What?" She grinned. "Don't think you can handle it?" She taunted.

"No!" Shirou protested indignantly, "I'm actually more worried about you! Women your age get tired so easily."

"What was that!?" Taiga howled. "Did you just call me old!?" She was not that old! She was barely in her twenties!

"You said it, not me!"

"You little brat!"

And so they bickered all the way to the hotel. She was glad that at least Shirou didn't treat her like a stranger, even though he was being annoying.

**8888**

"So, what now?" The red haired young man asked after they finished confirming the reservation. They were walking through the halls of an expensive hotel, heading to the room that Raiga-san had prepared for them while being accompanied by two of Raiga-san's men, both of whom carried their luggage even though Shirou offered to carry it himself. Fuji-nee brought an awful lot of stuff, and it was embarrassing to let other people shoulder all of it. He also couldn't help but wonder how exactly she got away with packing all those things without him noticing.

"Hmm?" Taiga titled her head to the side, wordlessly requesting for him to clarify.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"Oh, well I just wanted us to walk around a bit. Explore the city to appreciate the view and all that." Fuji-nee confirmed. "We'll just go visit the places that we find interesting along the way."

They reached their room, numbered 604, like it said on the card key. One of the Raiga's men swiped the card over the electronic door to open it, leading them into the hotel room. Shirou thanked them as he entered, before he stopped to gape as he saw how extravagant the whole room was.

"Raiga-san really went all out, didn't he?" Shirou wondered what could have possessed the man to pay for such a luxurious room. Every corner of the room looked as if it was made to accommodate a king, it made Shirou anxious at how much it must have cost. Certainly the Fujimura family was by no means poor, far from it, but to spend this much for such a simple thing as having a small vacation…

"Gramps never does things half cocked." Fuji-nee's voice was tinted with hint of pride and a hint of amusement. "We won't stay here much though. There's a whole city to see, after all." Taiga pumped one her arm to emphasize. "Before that though, we'll need to go freshen up." She looked a bit too eager to use the hotels bath room. She abruptly grabbed a bag from one the men and dashed towards the bathroom. "I'll go first!" She shouted, shutting the door with a loud bang.

Shirou sighed at her behavior, sitting down on one of the large puffy mattress. "Sorry about her." He apologized to the man that Taiga rudely snatched the bag from.

"It's alright, Emiya-san." Raiga-san's subordinate answered politely. "We wouldn't have lasted this long if we weren't used to Raiga-sama's granddaughter." A few hearty chuckles escaped from both of the Fujimura henchmen.

"Oh, where is Raiga-san, by the way?" Shirou really wanted to thank the old man for providing for their lodgings.

"Raiga-sama is currently heading to the museum to visit his friend."

"Museum?"

"Yes, Emiya-san. His friend is the owner of the museum and today is its foundation day."

Museum huh? This must be the business that Fuji-nee was talking about. "Thanks for telling me." Shirou gratefully told them.

"It's no problem, Emiya-san. If you would excuse us, we must return to Raiga-sama's hotel room." The men bowed before they exited the room.

Shirou stood up to observe the city from one of the windows. It was almost surreal how big it was, even more so because of the method it used to power itself. He was doubtful when Fuji-nee told him about it, but he saw with his own eyes the many windmills that lined up in the streets, the buildings and just, everywhere. It seemed like there was not a place in this city that did not have windmills.

The biggest one of all though…Shirou let his eyes roam over to the very center of the city. There it stood — the colossal tower that he had seen from afar earlier.

Just like the city, he had vastly underestimated its size. It was easily over thousand feet tall. Shirou wondered if he could convince Fuji-nee to check it out during their time here.

"Okay I'm done!" Fuji-nee popped out of the bathroom with her usual vigor "Your turn! Make sure not to take too long though! We've got a whole day ahead of us and I want to spend every minute of it having fun!"She was bursting with energy and Shirou couldn't help but smile. Her exuberance was infectious.

* * *

><p>After they left the hotel, Shirou came across a very strange sight.<p>

They had been walking down the streets of Fuuto when a bald man dressed in a Santa suit carrying a sack of assorted items gave them card of some sort. Shirou did a double take. Yes, his eyes weren't deceiving him; the man really was dressed in a Santa suit.

"Merry Christmas!" Shirou accepted it dubiously as Taiga grinned.

"Its not…Christmas yet, sir." Shirou informed. He supposed that the oddly dressed man might already know this, but it didn't hurt to tell him.

"Oho?" The bald man pushed his shades up the bridge of his nose. "Must be new here eh?" He grinned knowingly. "The names Santa-chan, and to me every day is Christmas in this great city!" He hefted the sack over his shoulder and gave a salute to both of them. "Welcome to Fuuto!"

And so the man named Santa-chan went on his merry way. Shirou just stared after him, flabbergasted.

"So what did he give you?" The amusement in Fuji-nee's voice was palpable, obviously having fun in seeing him taken aback after meeting such a weird person. Shirou wordlessly presented her the card that the eccentric man handed him.

"'Got something need doing? Someone important to you missing? Suspicious people stalking you?! Just go to Narumi Detective Agency and we'll solve all your problems!'" Fuji-nee read aloud. She took it from his hand and carefully placed it into her handbag. "This might actually come in handy." She said considerately. The young man wasn't exactly sure, but there might have been a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"That was…really…" Shirou wasn't entirely sure of what to make of that encounter.

"Weird? Yeah, get used to it though. A city this big is bound to attract weird people." Fuji-nee consoled him. He couldn't help but agree, though for an entirely different reason. As they walked down the cheery windy streets, Shirou sensed the magical energy bridling within the land. Yes, this city was definitely bound to draw in weird people. Magi, specifically.

Shirou tried not to worry, but the cold feeling in his gut just wouldn't go away.

"Hey look at that!" Taiga pointed to the string of people lined up on the streets.

Oh, right. "Raiga-san's men told me that it was the museum's foundation day today." He told her.

"Really? Then we should go there!" Taiga said gleefully, clutching at his arm. "It should be fun!"

Shirou shrugged and went along with her. This suited him just fine, this way he might find Raiga-san while he was there to thank him. They Fujimura were undoubtedly rich, but he thought it would be impolite not to express his gratitude for providing their accommodations at the hotel.

They wandered all the way to the district where most of the festivities took place. There were open tents on the side of the streets, all of which had a variety of booths and their own gimmicks to attract people. There were even food-stands. A bit farther away from the affair, a large number of people were gathered in front of a large wooden stage that was currently occupied by two female singers who were dressed like school girls, entertaining the lively crowd with their song.

"Ohhh." Something had apparently caught Fuji-nee's eye, Shirou followed her line of sight to find a photography booth with a big sign saying 'Watcherman's Photo-booth!' on one corner of the street.

"Let's go take a picture!" She enthused while tugging at his arm, smiling brightly. The redhead nodded his assent, letting her pull him along. No harm in taking pictures.

"Give Watcherman a big smile!" The photographer in the booth was taking the picture of another customer when they reached it. The pretty looking girl in the booth struck a pose.

Click! The camera flashed once.

"Nice! Now let's see another!" The girl did another pose that was followed by another flash of the camera. "That was great!" The cameraman, a thin man with a strange afro, was obviously enjoying his job.

Taiga dinged the bell on the table of the booth, looking to catch the afro-haired man's attention. She was bouncing on her feet like an impatient child, obviously wanting to take their turn immediately.

"Oh!" The photographer exclaimed when he finally noticed them. "Here to take a picture? Just a sec, I'm gonna go finish this up." The girl did one more pose for the camera, ending her session. The camera man went on to print the photos and happily handed them to the girl, thanking her for her patronage.

"Come on Shirou!" The excited Fujimura woman pulled him into the booth eagerly. Taiga entwined one of her arms with his, pulling him close while raising her other arm up to make V sign with her hand, smiling cheerily. Shirou tried not to blush, but nonetheless gave a smile at the camera when the photographer asked them to.

Shirou had to admit, he was really starting to have fun.

This vacation was really starting to look better.

**8888**

"Thanks for coming!" The photographer gave them their processed photos with a smile, adding: "Be sure to check out my blog later too!"

They gave their thanks and strode out of the booth with their pictures in hand.

"Haha, you look so cute in this one Shirou." She showed him one picture where they were wearing props. Shirou smiled at the irony.

The props were wizard hats and wands.

The brown haired woman giggled a little bit more before putting away the pictures in her handbag so she could look at them later.

"We should go check that concert out next." She looked thoughtfully to where the source of the loud music was coming from. "Say Shirou, you've never been to a concert have you?" She asked casually.

"Yeah, never really thought about going to one," he answered honestly. Music really didn't interest him all that much, and practicing magecraft still took full priority over everything.

Listening to it was nice though.

Taiga hummed before grabbing his hand, guiding him towards the stage.

"Well there's a first time for every- oof!" Her cheery reply was interrupted when someone bumped into her very hard. "Hey!" She tossed a glare at the one who did it.

The short man with a tattoo on his face kept walking like he didn't notice her.

"Jerk!" She kept glaring at the rude man's back until he disappeared into the sea of people. Shirou squeezed her hand to stop her from following.

"Let it go Fuji-nee." Shirou pleaded. Taiga huffed—then her eyes widened and pulled her hand from Shirou to check her hand bag.

"Phone. Purse. Pictures. Oh good, nothing important is missing." She sighed in relief. She glared again at the direction the man had gone to. "Good thing he wasn't a thief."

"Just please let it go." He pleaded again. "We're here to have fun right?"

Taiga relented, relaxing her glare but not before heatedly saying: "Fine, that guy better hope he doesn't see us again though." She grabbed his hand again and led him to stage again, "Let's go! It looks like their next number is about to start!"

Shirou smiled, glad that he averted a disaster.

'That man was lucky.' He thought as they joined the cheering masses of people.

'Fuji-nee would have _destroyed_ him.'

And he had no doubt she would.

**8888**

With most of his men outside discouraging the mass of people from coming near his limousine, Raiga sat patiently with Sajyou inside, waiting for his friend to appear on stage and address the people.

Ryuubee wasn't the type of person for such grand-standings, but that apparently changed as well.

And so, after a few more minutes of waiting, he was roused when the loud music faded away and the people started clapping more formally. The door of his car was opened and Raiga stepped out, nodding to the member that opened it, gesturing for Sajyou to follow.

There stood his friend on the stage, smiling benevolently at the audience. Raiga could see, even through the set of framed glasses of his Ryuubee's nose, that the smile didn't really reach his mans eye.

It was a fake smile meant to appeal to the crowd of gullible people.

It made Raiga sick.

'What happened to you?' He had thought. Everything about his friends was so artificial now; he was veiled behind a curtain of grandeur meant conceal who he really was. Raiga wasn't sure who it really was beneath that façade anymore. He didn't know this man.

Not this Fake.

"That man on the stage is not my friend." He murmured to Sajyou quietly. She nodded, glasses glinting as she observed Ryuubee.

The owner of the museum made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "I thank you all for coming here!" Ryuubee's voice was carefully toned to emulate gratefulness, letting his eyes wander the masses. "Today is a celebration of history, a day of—"The speech was interrupted when Ryuubee's roaming eyes finally found Raiga's.

The head of the Fujimura family grinned at him challengingly.

Their reunion however, was unfortunately interrupted.

**8888**

It started with a tremor— one strong enough to make the people pause in their celebration.

It was followed by a guttural roar. The crowd looked to its source. A hulking behemoth stood before them, an unnatural cross between a man—

—and a rhino.

Someone screamed. Soon it was joined by many more. The mass of people dispersed in panic, in fear of the monster.

The police hired to guard the event took out their guns to aim them at the creature even in their terror. The beast snorted then snarled as it was peppered by gunshots. It hunched down with one hand on the floor like football player, before charging at them with its horn poised to impale.

The commotion was abruptly accompanied by the stage suddenly collapsing, taking along the people on it. Another monstrosity burst out from beneath the ground, letting out a hiss, this one alike to that of a man and a scorpion. It looked upon the chaos it wrought and laughed, a distorted sound painted with cruelty. It turned its head to the sounds of gunfire and it jumped towards it direction, looking to join the other monster in wreaking havoc among the police and the masses, its long stinger tipped tail curled in malicious excitement.

On the rooftops, the men meant to snipe at any oncoming threats were dealt with a similar kind of opposition. Their enemy took the form of a vulture with the arms of a man that had talons for hands just like its legs. It took to the skies with its huge feathered wings, crowing its large beak mockingly as it swooped down at them with its talons.

Amidst all the chaos, there was yet another creature stalking the streets, its sights set on the wreckage of the collapsed stage. It was a lion that walked like a man, claws brandished and ready to cut down anything that came in its way. But it wanted only the blood of one man staining its claws. The lion-man growled when it saw its target standing up from the rubble, the very sight of him making its blood boil. It set off into a deadly dash, its roar filled with hate.

"**Sonozaki!**"

**8888**

_Chapter One: End._

**8888**

Aaaaand done.

_Finally_.

Sorry for the long wait, I got sidetracked with all things I needed to do for college, just recently got some free time.

As always, I hope you enjoyed that. All criticisms are welcome.


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